The trees outside Shibuya Station had been decorated with electric lights. Someone had even dressed up the famous statue of Hachiko; the loyal dog now sported a festive red ribbon and seemed to puff out his chest as if proud of his fancy new outfit. Big ad banners hung from the roofs of buildings, with large gothic letters, clearly visible even at night, declaring special winter sales with gusto.
The bookstore where I worked was no different. You could see red, green, and white garlands everywhere, and snowflake patterns had been spray-painted on the glass near the entrance.
Christmas is still two whole weeks away, I thought as I stepped into the store. I looked around and breathed a small sigh.
Bookstores don’t see a lot of seasonal change in foot traffic, but they still tend to get crowded around this time of year, when more people are out shopping. Today seemed even busier than usual.
The moment I saw the manager, he delivered some shocking news.
“What?! Yomiuri is sick?” I exclaimed.
“Yeah. It’s just you and Ayase today. It’ll be a little more hectic than you’re used to, but I’m counting on you.”
“Um, okay. Got it.”
Ayase and I have to handle the registers alone now of all times…? I braced myself for the worst.
After changing into my work clothes, I went out onto the sales floor. Just then, Ayase scrambled in, still wearing her school uniform.
“Sorry I’m late!” she called out.
“It’s okay. Our shift hasn’t started yet.”
We still had about ten minutes to go. There was no need for her to rush.
I went around and greeted the other part-timers currently working the registers, then headed into the office area at the back. If we only had two employees working the floor, we’d probably be stuck behind the registers until reinforcements came in a bit later. If possible, I wanted to check on our inventory ahead of time.
“Crap, I should’ve taken a look at the shelves first.” I groaned, staring at the piles of merchandise in the back.
It was pointless to know the number of magazines we had in stock if I didn’t know how much space we had left in the displays. We could always check our inventory from the PC at the register, but it was better to have a physical grasp of the situation as well.
Yomiuri would have taken a quick look around the store before she went to the back. I’d totally mixed up the steps. I bit my lip and glanced at the clock on the wall. I had three minutes until I needed to start my shift. There was nothing I could do about it now.
I headed for the cash registers, a little uneasy without Yomiuri’s reassuring presence.
“It’s time,” I said. “I’ll take over now!”
“Thanks. See you later.”
“Thanks, Asamura. Have a good shift!”
The two employees behind the register bowed and stepped out, and I took their place behind the counter. A little later, Ayase joined me.
We barely had time to say hello before the next group of customers approached. I ran through the standard lines without issue and processed each order with practiced ease. But as soon as one person left, another took their place. I had no time to catch my breath.
It really was a busy day. What’s more, with Christmas coming up, we got a lot of gift-wrapping requests, and that took even more time and effort. Putting regular paper covers on books was troublesome enough on its own, but gift wrapping was even more complicated.
First, we had to ask the customer if they wanted the regular wrapping paper or the one in Christmas colors. We’d pull out physical examples of each and have the customer choose. Most people wanted Christmas colors around this time of year, of course. Once the purchase was wrapped up, we’d tie a ribbon on it.
The thin, flat ribbon was easy to get twisted, and if it came out crooked, we had to do it over. We had to crisscross it around the package, then tie it in a bow and trim the ends with scissors. It was important to cut them at an angle, rather than straight, so they looked pretty.
Back when I first learned, I was pretty bad at it. I still feel bad for the people who had to live with my sorry work. Even now, I break out in a cold sweat whenever someone asks me to wrap their purchase. Lately, I’ve been thinking about birthday presents for Ayase, so I’m extra conscientious about it. I want to do a good job so that the recipient won’t be disappointed.
A birthday present for Ayase.
My hands continued to work as my mind began to drift, escaping from the hustle and bustle of the bookstore.
What should I get her? What would make Ayase happy?
Back when I’d bought a gift for Narasaka, I’d left the choice up to Ayase. She knew what her friend liked, so it had all worked out.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
The manager’s voice pulled me back to the present. While I’d been busy thinking, I’d finished handling all the customers in line.
“Help will be here soon,” he said, “so keep at it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ayase and I were both reminded of how hard it was to handle things without our veteran senior coworker’s help. With the cash registers swamped, we didn’t even have time to think about keeping the sales floor stocked and organized.
“Things are slowing down a bit now,” she said, “but it’s been really hectic today, huh?”
“It’s tough with just the two of us.”
“I’m worried about Yomiuri.”
“I hope it’s only a cold… We should be careful, too.”
As the flow of customers petered out, I stepped out from behind the counter. “I’m going to check the sales floor.”
“Thanks!”
I was careful not to rush as I noted the number of magazines stacked on the display tables and looked for empty spots on the shelves. At the same time, I also scanned the area to see if any customers needed help.
I was touring through the shelves, trying to get back to the registers as quicky as possible, when I encountered a customer searching for a historical fantasy for his wife. It took a while to find, since it turned out to be a comic book, and we ended up going back and forth as we hunted for the right section. By the time we were finished, the checkout line had filled back up.
I couldn’t afford to spend any more time out on the sales floor, so I went back behind the counter. About an hour later, another coworker joined us, and we were finally able to catch our breath.
It was late at night by the time I finished my shift and left the store.
I was walking down the sidewalk with Ayase, pushing my bike. The street was lined with trees lit up in Christmas colors. I could see my breath, and the handlebars on my bike were cold enough that my fingertips began to sting.
“Why aren’t you wearing gloves?” Ayase asked, casting me a sideways glance.
“My hands feel like they’re slipping when I wear gloves. That’s just how it seems to me, though.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a fact or simply my imagination. I knew there were gloves made specifically for riding bikes and motorcycles, so I figured it was probably safer to wear them.
Speaking of bike safety, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government had recently started promoting helmet safety for high schoolers. Suisei High still didn’t require them, but the rules were likely to change soon. Gloves might be next.
“All the more reason to wear them,” said Ayase. I heard concern in her voice, and that made it harder to casually brush off the subject. I knew she was worried about me.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “I’ll look into it.”
It wouldn’t be easy to get both a helmet and gloves at once, though.
“You aren’t wearing a scarf, either. Aren’t you cold?”
“I think a scarf might be dangerous. It might catch on something while I’m moving…”
“Oh yeah. Good point.”
“I guess I could push it inside my jacket or wear a neck warmer. But I’m actually not that cold.”
Ayase nodded. “Still, it’s really chilly today. Hey, bring your bike over here.”
“What? Won’t it get in your way?”
I didn’t know what she was after, but I did as she said and pulled my bike between us, regretting the added distance.
But then Ayase gently placed her left hand on top of my right hand—the one closest to her—atop the handlebar.
Ah, so that’s what she wanted.
If I’d kept my bike on the opposite side, she would have had to extend her arm in front of me. That would have been dangerous and made it difficult to walk.
I felt Ayase’s warmth through her fluffy glove as it seeped into the back of my hand.
“Are you a little warmer now?” she asked.
“Oh… Yeah.”
“This is the best I can do, since you have to keep holding on to your bike.”
“I know. Thanks.”
Her touch was gentle so as not to restrict my movement. Still, it helped block the wind and allowed Ayase to share some of her warmth.
We walked for a while in silence.
The street was crowded, and though I knew most people didn’t pay attention to strangers, I felt like they were all stealing glances at our overlapping hands.
To hide my embarrassment, I brought up our exam results. When I told Ayase my score, she said she’d gotten 815 points total. It wasn’t all that different from my score of 819, but I could see the frustration on her face.
“You beat me again…”
“A 4-point difference doesn’t mean anything. And your 94 in Modern Japanese is fantastic.”
She’d gone from a failing grade to a 94 in only six months. It was truly impressive.
My score wasn’t much better, and I was attending prep school. If she started going, too, she could probably get into the top ten.